June 22, 2018 -- Todd Tutterow appeared headed to a rough back-to-back stretch after not qualifying in Richmond and following it up by barely squeaking into the field in the No. 16 spot at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service race in Bristol. But Tutterow made an impressive turnaround in eliminations, knocking out the No. 1 qualifier in the first round and advancing to the final. It was precisely the race Tutterow needed in his WYO Motorsports/Ty-Drive Camaro, and the Pro Mod veteran hopes that momentum continues as the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by J&A Service starts the second half of its season as part of this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. “It was a pretty good boost for us,” said Tutterow, who is currently eighth in the points standings. “We ran good all weekend [...]

June 22, 2018 -- Chevrolet announced today that Corvette Racing will close its 20th season of competition in grand style by competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 2018 race in Shanghai. The C7.R racecar, which will wear a special Redline livery for the competition, will be the first factory-run Corvette to race in Asia. The 6 Hours of Shanghai will take place from November 16-18 at the 16-turn, 5.45-km Shanghai International Circuit. Built in 2004, the venue plays host to a number of motorsports’ top championships, including the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix. "Corvette is a global icon that we are excited to be bringing to race in China – the second largest market for Chevrolet,” said Scott Lawson, general director of Chevrolet for SAIC-GM. The WEC is one of the world's key sports car series that features racing at venues across the world with all races being [...]

June 21, 2018 — The winningest driver in Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park history is eager to get back to a track where he has seen more win lights than stoplights. While John Force, driver of the PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car, may only have one NHRA Funny Car win at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, the 148-time winner has picked up so many specialty wins at the August mega-event, Night Under Fire, that he feels right at home at the track outside of Cleveland. “When I think of coming to Norwalk I think of two things,” said John Force. “The Bader family and huge crowds. They packed them in here for so many years for the Night Under Fire that the Baders finally got an NHRA national event about ten years ago and it has been awesome ever since.” While Force was dominating the [...]

Photo: Jamey Price June 21, 2018 -- Nine months after the Laguna Seca race weekend and one year since her podium finish at the Watkins Glen round of the 2017 Super Trofeo North American Championship, the British driver dons the black and gold fire suit for the 3rd and 4th rounds of Super Trofeo North America. Pippa Mann is joining the Precision Performance Motorsports team to co-drive the #47 Huracan Super Trofeo EVO alongside PRO-AM points leader Patrick Liddy. The PPM entry will also feature branding from three of Pippa's primary Indy 500 sponsors - Donate Life, OrthoIndy, and Bell Techlogix. "I am delighted to have this opportunity to rejoin the Super Trofeo paddock, and to return to one of my favorite US road course at Watkins Glen." Says Pippa. "I'm thrilled to be able to bring Donate Life, OrthoIndy, and Bell Techlogix with me, and I'm very thankful to [...]

June 20, 2018 -- A year after winning eight races during a banner 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season, Steve Torrence has gone to several events this year as the defending event winner. It’s something that doesn’t get old for the Top Fuel standout and will include this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. Torrence has kept up that impressive pace from last season in his 10,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster, winning four races and holding the points lead through the first 11 events. As 2018 hits the halfway mark in Norwalk, Torrence looks as strong as ever as he races for his first career world championship. Another victory at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park would put him a step closer to his goal in a stretch that currently includes 12 wins in his last 30 races. “As a whole, the season has [...]

June 19, 2018 – When talking about road course racing Martin Truex Jr.’s voice tends to rise a few decibels. “I love the challenge of road racing,” Truex said. “I grew up racing go-karts on road courses (in New Jersey) and fell in love with that quickly. The excitement level definitely goes up a few notches when we compete at a road course.” A two-time road course winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, Truex won’t have to wait much longer for a return to his grass roots form of racing. The Furniture Row Racing driver will be one of the favorites to capture Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, the first of three road course races of the season. Truex, who will drive the No. 78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Camry at Sonoma’s 11-turn, 1.99-mile circuit, is a former Sonoma winner (2013) and also won last year’s road race [...]

18 June 18, 2018- -- How does such a long lap make for such close finishes? This weekend, the racers in the Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires will look to answer that question as the hugely competitive category returns to one of the most iconic road courses in North America. Road America, the legendary 4-mile natural terrain circuit set in rural Wisconsin, has produced some incredible Global Mazda MX-5 Cup finishes. Last year saw Patrick Gallagher win the first race by all of 0.0263-seconds on his way to scoring the 2017 title and the $200,000 prize that goes with it. Race two produced another breathtaking finish as former Global Mazda MX-5 Cup series champion Nathanial “Sparky” Sparks won with a margin of 0.0468-seconds over the rest of the field. Nikko Reger leads the championship charge into the event weekend, which will also feature the three [...]

June 17, 2018 -- Tony Schumacher was able to lock down his first Top Fuel victory of the season Sunday as he emerged victorious at the 18th annual Fitzgerald USA NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) were also victorious in their respective categories at the 11th of 24 events on the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. Schumacher powered to the Winner’s Circle with a run of 3.946-seconds at 313.58 mph in his U.S. Army dragster to take down Mike Salinas in the final round. This was Schumacher’s third final round of the season and the 150th of his career, as he now has six career victories in Bristol in eight career final rounds at the facility. “We have had little things bite us this season, but we knew we had to overcome adversity and we knew we had a [...]

June 13, 2018, by Kay Presto, www.carsandcompetition.com – Corvette Racing went as fast as it ever has in the GTE Pro category around the Circuit de la Sarthe on Wednesday in the first of three qualifying sessions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs dipped into the 3:50 bracket and averaged more than 131 mph around the 8.47-mile track . Antonio Garcia led the way Wednesday in the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with a lap of 3:50.789 (132.041 mph) to rank 11th of 17 GTE Pro entries after the week’s initial two-hour time trial session. He and Jan Magnussen placed third in last year’s GTE Pro race, and they will try for victory this year with Mike Rockenfeller. "Everything is still going to our predetermined plan," Garcia said. "The various slow zones in the beginning of the qualifying session didn’t help, of course. [...]

June 13, 2018 -- Although the Sunday death of Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen at age 81 reverberated throughout the sport of drag racing, it hit few harder than it did John Force, the 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion. Force spoke at length with his PR representatives Elon Werner and Dave Densmore to collect his thoughts and feelings about McEwen. This is what he wanted us to share with the NHRA community As recently as three to four weeks ago, McEwen had called Force to talk about a recent spate of engine explosions and crashes that had left the Hall of Fame team owner and driver battered, bruised and besieged The conversation was typically candid. “Force,” McEwen said, “are you trying to kill yourself? Let’s talk, call me.” It was the kind of conversation in which the two had engaged in for more than 40 years. “He could do that,” Force said. “I know, [...]

Categories

Book and Movie Reviews

McLaren (the movie)Review by Larry Mason, June 2017
The latest documentary chronicling the successful career, and ultimately tragic demise of a superstar race car driver, should be on every true racing fan’s list to see.

LYN ST. JAMES – An Incredible JourneyMay 11, 2016, by Kay Presto
From the minute you pick up and read the introduction of Lyn St. James’ newest book, LYN ST JAMES: An Incredible Journey, you are inside the race car – seeing, feeling, experiencing — the excitement and tremendous challenge of being a race car driver.

BOOK REVIEW: Driven MindNovember 24, 2015, by Kay Presto
Grab your hat and let’s go! If you’ve ever wanted to do a fuel run around a 2000-mile loop of Great Britain on one sealed tank of gas, transport (smuggle) schoolbooks to Russian children, put an entire car inside the top level of the CNN Tower, and set records driving through 80 countries around the world, then the book DRIVEN MIND will take you on those journeys, and 47 more!

Book Review: “As a matter of fact, I am Parnelli Jones”March 28, 2013, by Kay Presto
Reading Parnelli Jones’ newest book, “As a matter of fact, I am Parnelli Jones,” will hold you spellbound for hours as you weave through this incredible life story of the famed Rufus Parnell Jones. During his remarkable racing career, Parnelli conquered every form of racing in which he competed – beginning with the half-mile dirt tracks all the way to the highest ranks of Victory Lane in the Indianapolis 500, winning races and garnering championships in an impressive list of the most hard-fought, hard-driven forms of motorsports competition.

SennaAugust 28, 2011 Movie Review by Larry Mason
Winner of the Audience Award World Cinema Documentary at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival

Yellow FlagJuly 11, 2011
Book Review by Kay Presto
Inspired by his high-speed ride in a Richard Petty NASCAR stock car, award-winning novelist and sportswriter Robert Lipsyte has crafted an exciting and compelling novel about a teenager in a dedicated stock car family, in the book Yellow Flag.

An Accidental SportswriterJuly 11, 2011
Book Review, by Kay Presto
An Accidental Sportswriter is a moving, in-depth memoir in the life of Robert Lipsyte, an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Times and other major publications.

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